Unmei Clan
The Unmei Clan were once a well know during the Era of Warring States. There were known to be some of the most well rounded shinobi in existence, and with a devastating hidden technique only available to a select few members of the clan, they were a force to be reckoned with. After the establishment of Konohagakure and the one ninja village per nation system, the Unmei clan began a slow decent from their desirable position as a powerful and well established clan. History The Unemi Clan first rose to prominence during the Era of Warring States. Thought still second rate when compared to that of the Senju and Uchiha, the Unmei were still well known for being exceptional combatants and extremely well rounded shinobi. Members of the clan could be born to posses any of the five base chakra elements and many mastered two elements by the age of sixteen. Further establishing the clan's fearsome reputation was the hidden technique that most the higher level clan members possessed. Through skillful chakra manipulation, members of the Unmei Clan would refract the light around them and throw off the aim of incoming attacks. This technique made members of the clan famously elusive in combat. It wasn't until the end of the Era of Warring States that misfortune began to plague the Unmei clan, and their relevance began to decline. With the establishment of the one ninja village per county system, it was obvious that the shinobi world was going to change drastically. The Unmei had became vastly wealthy and powerful thanks to the constant fighting of the Warring States, and resisted the new system by refusing to settle down in any of the new ninja villages. The elders of the Unmei clan predicted that the new system wouldn't last long, as conflict would soon resume between the new ninja villages and things would steadily return to the way they once were. As the elders had predicted, war soon broke out between the shinobi villages. Though they did not join the village itself, the Unmei clan were heavily in favor of Kumogakure, who opposed the first ninja village and the group the Unmei blamed for the unwelcome change, Konohagakure. The Unmei did their best to sabotage Konoha, attacking resupply routes, ambushing scouting parties and other gorilla tactics. It didn't take long for word of the Unemi's interference to reach the ears of Tobirama Senju. Rather than devote man power that Konoha didn't have to defeat the Unemi, Tobirama decided instead to given them a chance to change sides. In an attempt to sway the Unmei's opinion, Tobirama set out to meet with the Unmei in person, however he would never reach his destination. On his way to the meeting, Tobirama and his escort unit came under attack by Kumo's Kinkaku Force and Tobirama sacrificed himself to ensure the safety of his subordinates. Though the elders of the Unmei clan denied having provided Kumo with information about the meeting, it was heavily suspected that someone in the Unmei clan had indeed informed Kumo that Tobirama would be setting out to meet with their elders. Though the First Great Shinobi War came to an end, the one ninja village per nation system persisted. Despite this, the Unmei still found some success as a clan of mercenaries, though it was much more difficult to find work than it had been during the Warring States Era. To compensate for the deceased availability of financial opportunities the Unemi became a wandering clan, moving from one location to another whenever contracts dried up in one area. They often lived in simple stone houses constructed with Earth Release and adapted other ninjutsu to help with daily activities. The Unmei lived comfortably, though unfulfilled for twenty years. It wasn't until conflict ensued once again that the downfall of the Unemi truly begin. At the start of the Second Shinobi World War, the Unmei were currently located in the southern most region of Iwagakure. Knowing that it was likely their current location could become a battlefield in the near future, the Unemi made the decision to relocate, planning to move to the Land of Lightning in hopes that they would be welcomed by Kumogakure for their assistance in the war twenty years prior. Unfortunately, the Unmei made the mistake of crossing into the Land of Rain. Suspecting that the Unmei had aligned with Iwagakure, the forced of Amegakure attacked them, inflicting many casualties and forcing the Unemi to continue their journey through the Land of Grass. As the Unmei made their way near the Land of Fire, they were once again attacked, this time by forces from Konohagakure. It had appeared that Konoha still partially blamed the Unmei for the death of the Second Hokage, and the ferocity of their attacks on the clan showed this. After sever losses, the Unmei finally managed to make their way to the Land of Lightning, but only to be denied asylum by Kumogakure and threatened with military action should they remain with the Land of Lightning. Though Konoha had not forgotten the deeds of the Unemi from the previous war, it seemed that Kumo indeed had. Worn out and left with nowhere to go, the Unmei wondered the minor nations North of the Land of Fire, searching for whatever work they could find until the end of the Second Shinobi World War. With a majority of their warriors having died in combat during the war, the Unmei were left with many orphaned children and were now struggling to survive. Many members of the clan took up commercial jobs to supplement the small cash flow that the remaining shinobi of the clan made through mercenary work. In order to ensure the clan's future, the children began training at a much younger age, some starting their ninja training as young as three years of age. For a clan that had once held prominence and prestige, daily life became an endless routine of hard labor, whether it be commercial work in small villages or intense ninja training. Few of the clan's elders remained and none were healthy enough to contribute to the clan's survival. Successors were chosen from the small pool of veteran shinobi, and each one of the new clan elders was at least ten years younger than their predecessors had been when they had been chosen to lead the Unmei. Though the Second Shinobi World War had devastated the Unmei Clan, with a new generation to shape and new leadership, the Unmei remained optimistic of the future. The misfortune that had plagued the Unmei during the Second Shinobi World War seemed to spread in the coming years. The military might of the Five Great Nations began a steady decline, resulting in the nations being challenged by smaller countries as well as one another, leading up to the Third Shinobi World War. The Unmei, though they had been biding their strength within the confines of the minor countries, had yet to completely compensate for the losses they had suffered during the Second Shinobi World War. The casualties from the previous conflict still fresh in their minds, the Unmei had intended to stay out of the war, but were quickly drawn into the fighting. Much to their surprise, the Unmei were approached by Konoha, offering the Unmei a chance to redeem themselves for their acts against the village during the First Shinobi World War. Though skeptical, the new elders of the Unmei saw this as an opportunity to bury the hatchet with one of their old enemies. Unfortunately, this unlikely alliance would be bought with blood. Konohagakure had begun clashing with Iwagakure after Iwagakure had attempted to move through the Land of Grass and gain access to the Land of Fire. Since the Unmei had operated in the Land of Grass on many occasions since the previous war, they seemed ideal to assist a team of Konoha Shinobi to sabotage the supply route for the forces of Iwagakure. However, for reasons still not fully understood, the mission went south and the force of Unmei and Konoha nin were surrounded and killed by the forces of Iwagakure, but not before completing the mission and racking up a substantial body count. This greatly hindered the advance of Iwagakure's forces and bought Konoha valuable time on that front the would eventually contribute to their victory. The losses, though tragic for Konoha, was devastating to the Unemi. They had lost several Jōnin level shinobi in the event, undoing much of the progress they had made recovering from the prior Shinobi World War. Despite the casualties, the mission was indeed a success and diplomatic relations were established between the Unmei and Konohagakure. After the end of the Third Shinobi World War, the Unmei were almost back where they had been not long ago at the end of the last war. For decades the Unmei had survived on their own, but time and time again they found themselves at the base of the mountain they had once proudly stud atop and could do little but scrape and claw their way upward and hope that one day in the distant future they would reach the top again. The elders of the Unmei could not longer deny that if they remained as they were, there was a chance that they would one day fall too far and be wiped from the world. Having won over Konohagakure's good faith with the sacrifice of their members, the clan elders begged the newly appointed Forth Hokage to join Konohagakure. After much discussion, the Unemi were eventually allowed to reside in Konoha. Though not all the members of the Unmei were happy to fall into the ranks of their former enemy, most of the Unemi felt that for once in decades they could breath a sigh of relief. Trivia The Unemi Clan symbol looks simplistic, being a for point star with a curved line underneath. What the symbol represents is a pair of hands cupped together and holding the star, which represents destiny.